A chaotic weekend at Donington Park further reversed the values on the track BSB British Superbike. With three different winners in the three Sunday races and four drivers just 19 points apart, the Brands Hatch Grand Finale looks like it’s a real thriller. However, The British championship often brings surprises and the last round was no less due to the sensational performances of Gino Rea.
The Buildbase Suzuki man turned out to be one of the stars of the weekend. Only a few tenths away from the podium he culminated in fourth place in race 2. The 2009 SuperStock 600 European Champion not only achieved his best career result in British Superbike, but also stood out in the other two races with a sixth and fifth place overall.
A memorable Sunday for the 31-year-old from London, who demonstrates the excellent current form of the motorcycle and the team and is finally competitive again after several seasons full of ups and downs.
Victory in the European SuperStock 600 and the change to Moto2
After winning the European Stock 600 title on a Ten Kate Racing CBR 600RR in 2009, After a short time in World SuperSport 600 (two podiums and one win), Gino Rea switched to Moto2 with the Intermoto Czech team.
The first to give him his big chance was an Italian: Fausto Gresini. The two-time 125cc world champion, founder of the team of the same name, relied a lot on the English driver. Unfortunately for him due to various events (a season that started with a Moriwaki MD600, but then switched to a Suter MMX during the construction period), Gino Rea was never able to demonstrate his true potential at the Malaysian Grand Prix despite an astonishing second place under a downpour.
A return to the world of SS600
After racing two more seasons in the intermediate category of the World Championship and the bikes weren’t up to the challenge of fighting for the top positions, he returned to the World SuperSport 600 in 2015. First with the CIA Landlords Insurance Honda, which the team GRT Racing went through MV Agusta and graduation with Kawasaki Go Eleven.
Three different motorcycles in three years, with three bad third places in 36 races and one sixth place as the best place in the championship. The results were too mixed and certainly not worthy of the initial expectations. Gino Rea definitely needed a change of scene.
Debut in the BSB
In 2018 he came to the British Superbike, the most spectacular and highly competitive national championship in the world. Under the then newborn OMG Racing, “Speedy Ginox” was able to familiarize itself with the top class and the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R and discover all the secrets of the “Old Style” tracks of Great Britain.
Due to an abrupt exchange of views with OMG Racing, Gino Rea was left without a ride in the first part of 2019. The turning point came at Cadwell Park when it was called up by the Bike Devil Sweda MV Agusta team. Although the project with an ex-Reparto Corse and ex-Leon Camier F4 from 2016 was an uphill battle, the 31-year-old from London was able to bring the motorcycle into the battle for the points zone and assert himself against the riders the caliber of Danny Kent and James Ellison.
Because of these accomplishments, Dave Tyson decided to give him another chance for the current season. When 2020 got off to a bad start due to the health crisis associated with COVID-19, Bike Devil had to revise its plans by shutting down the Ducati Panigale V4R project in favor of a Kawasaki ZX-10RR. Similar to Leon Haslam in 2018, the adjustment phase turned out to be more difficult than expected. At the end of the first round at Donington ‘National’, however, a bolt of lightning came out of the blue: an amicable divorce for sponsorship reasons.
Signing with Buildbase Suzuki
It was a heavy blow to both sides, but as they say, when one door is closed, another opens. The same thing happened to Gino Rea, who signed with Buildbase Suzuki (initially) to replace the convalescent Keith Farmer
The 31-year-old, who was present from the Snetterton lap, first tried to dial into the GSX-R 1000 again and improved from race to race. That aspect earned him confirmation by the end of the season. Fighting close to the top ten with the other BSB protagonists after teammate Ryde doubled up at Silverstone ‘National’. The final leap in quality came in the final lap at Donington Park.
During the first race, he finished sixth because, under very specific conditions, he had risked the rear intermediate tire. In Race 2, he definitely impressed the observers. Gino Rea started perfectly from fifth on the grid and immediately got into the battle for the podium. With the luxury of having driven a few laps for the first time, he had to fly the white flag in the closing stages against Josh Brookes and the two McAMS Yamahas of O’Halloran and Mackenzie, who finished in fourth place. In the last race of the day, however, he put in another good performance with fifth place under the checkered flag.
An impressive weekend for Gino Rea, who turned out to be by far the best Suzuki driver on the grid. The former Moto2 rider is currently enjoying a second life in the championship after being written off too many times. With the Brands Hatch final (October 16-17-18) still pending and five drivers battling for the title, an eye must also be kept on a few potential underdogs, starting with Gino Rea himself. Having achieved his best race result, he is now looking for his first podium or even better.